Starlight, Starbright
by Jaxin88
Summary: The Doctor has a surprise for Rose, but he's not the only one. Written for Doctor-Rose-Fix's Autumn Fixathon.


**A/N: Whoa, I actually wrote a TenII story! That _never_ happens. This was for a picture prompt for Doctor-Rose-Fix's autumn 2012 Fixathon- hope you enjoy!**

ΘΣ

"Can I look yet?"

The Doctor's hand tightened around hers, the hard press of his wedding band still foreign against her skin. His voice was light with amusement. "Impatient, aren't we?"

She grinned, feeling the heavy smoothness of the silk blindfold shifting with her smile. "'Course I am! You've been preening about this all day."

There was a sputter of indignation in front of her, echoing oddly in the still air. So they weren't outside any longer, at least. "I do not preen!"

Her tongue poked out of her grin. "Like a peacock."

His hand released hers, and Rose had a moment to frown at the loss before his lips came crashing down against hers, warm and slightly rough and still tasting of the Earl Grey he'd had at tea with her mum earlier.

Jackie had insisted they come up to visit the main house every day since they'd arrived back from their months-long honeymoon, and the Doctor had been surprisingly gracious about indulging her—more than Rose was, to be honest.

Rose knew Jackie was still acclimating herself to still having her daughter in this universe. Rose had never made her plan to return to the Doctor a secret, and she knew that her mum had never been happy with that, even if she accepted it. The fact that she and the Doctor had spontaneously eloped and left to travel the world one month after returning to Bad Wolf Bay hadn't been easy for her.

That day hadn't been easy for any of them. No one had expected the Doctor to return with Rose, not even the Doctor himself. The first week following their return from Norway had been quiet and tense, filled with uncertainty and missed signals—they had been apart for a long time, after all, and the Rose Tyler who catapulted herself across the Dimensions wasn't the same girl who had first entered the TARDIS with a wide smile and the stars in her eyes. Rose was grateful Jackie had given them the key for the pool house without any hassle. She needed to see her family, to be sure—she'd thought she'd never see them again—but she and the Doctor needed their space to get used to each other again.

And they had. Rose had woken one night to a crash—the Doctor had fallen off the couch, in the grip of a nightmare—and she was by his side before she'd even recognized that she wanted to move. He stared up at her, still half-asleep, and when she touched him he just... _broke._ It all came out then, the mind-numbing grief he'd felt when he lost her, the recklessness, the anger. She held him close as it all came pouring out, and when his voice had gone hoarse with talking and his tears had finally dried, she surprised herself by telling him of all she'd gone through, the hopelessness, the anger at her family's happiness, her desperation to never let him down. They spoke until the peach-pale light of dawn reached through the windows, and that morning was when he asked her to marry him. They were on a plane by the time Jackie came knocking at their front door to tell them to come up for breakfast.

Now they were back at the Tyler Estate, caught between a too-small house and a too-large one. Rose was ready to move on, but the Doctor was irritatingly picky about their future home. Considering his distaste for carpets and other such domesticities, Rose couldn't exactly be surprised.

He'd been working on a project for the last week, though, and had refused to tell her anything about it. Not that they'd had all that much time to talk, lately—since she'd returned to Torchwood, she'd been absolutely swamped with cases. The Doctor, on the other hand, was quite comfortable going into Torchwood as little as possible for his role as consultant.

It was absurd how much Rose found herself missing him while she was at work. At the end of the day, she always found herself getting more and more nervous the closer she got to home—it was all to easy to think that she'd been knocked unconscious during one of her dimension jumps, and this was all a glorious, horrible dream.

He never questioned why her hugs were so desperate when she got home, just as she never questioned why he held her so tightly when they went to sleep at night. Some things didn't need words.

Breathing was becoming an issue for both of them, which was a novelty Rose was more than happy to get used to. He pulled away, laying one last soft kiss against her lips before taking her hand again. She licked her lips, chasing the honey-and-lemon flavor of his mouth, and sighed happily.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

He took in a shaky breath and spoke, his voice oddly defiant. "Because I can." The ghosts of opportunities lost crowded the air around them, and Rose tightened her grip on his hand. He squeezed back, sudden, forced joviality filling his voice. "Come on, then! We're almost there."

"And then I'll _finally_ be able to take this blindfold off?"

He stopped and stepped closer, his hand reached out to brush against her hair. "Why? Is it too tight?"

She reached over to his hand and followed it up his arm, resting her palm gently against his slim bicep. "It's fine, Doctor. I just want to know, already."

"Right! Of course." He tugged on her hand, and she followed his hasty footsteps carefully. There was a quiet hiss and a soft breeze of air, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Take off the blindfold."

She reached up, pulled the silky fabric down, and gasped at the sight in front of her. They were standing in a wide bubble of a room, smooth white furniture arranged carefully between the crystal-clear walls. A low bed was situated behind them, half-hidden behind curved white walls. The Doctor had walked them down to the very edges of Pete's property, where manicured lawn gave way to sprawling trees. The room was nestled in the center of a small grove, and Rose marveled as she watched the branches outside twist and sway with the autumn wind. "Doctor, this is amazing!"

He was watching her with a soft, proud smile on her face. "You haven't even seen the best part."

She looked over her shoulder at him, a wide grin lighting up her face. "What d'you mean?"

He reached out and took her hand, tugging her over to the bed. Her eyebrows rose mischievously, but before she could speak he just smiled and pointed up. The clear dome above the bed somehow magnified and clarified the night sky stretched open above them, the stars glowing pin-prick bright against the velvet dark.

Rose gasped. "'S _gorgeous_! How are they so bright?"

He shrugged, a small smirk playing about his lips. "Oh, just a little light dispelling technology and some very careful glass-blowing, that's all." He stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently nuzzling her neck. She shivered as he spoke, his breath puffing out whisper-warm against her skin. "So, d'you like it?"

She twisted in his arms, tangling her fingers in his hair. "Doctor, I _love _it." She pulled his head down to meet hers, and she smiled and closed her eyes as his tongue darted out to play with hers. He was determined to show her all kinds of stars tonight.

ΘΣ

A harsh ringing woke Rose the next morning, and she groaned and burrowed further into the Doctor's arms. He grimaced and yawned, scratching his stubble with a grimace. "Isn't that your mother's ring?"

She scowled into his skin. "Don't care. Tired."

It quieted after a few minutes, but just when Rose was falling back asleep it started up again. She groaned and sat up, shivering as she left the Doctor's warm arms. The phone sat at their bedside, and she pushed the hair out of her eyes as she flipped it open. "What is it, Mum?"

"Put some blasted clothes on, already!"

She grabbed for the sheet that had slipped down to her waist, her eyes wide. "What are you talkin' about?"

"Go check out the Sun's front page—and for God's sake, tell himself to put on some pants! I could've lived a long time without havin' to see his scrawny arse all over my morning paper."

She rang off, and Rose reached out and wrapped the duvet cover around herself. The Doctor braced himself up on his elbows. "Rose? What is it?"

She flipped open her slim laptop and went to the Sun's website, sighing at the headline that screamed from the home page. "You wouldn't have happened to build any privacy precautions for the new room, would you?"

He frowned. "Why do you ask?"

She spun to laptop to face him, biting her lip to keep from laughing at his expression. Oh, well. She hadn't had any major tabloid embarrassments, in Pete's world—she supposed she was due one, by now.

VITEX HEIRESS AND NEW HUSBAND'S STAR-LIT SEXCAPADES! FULL PICTURES, PAGES 3-12!

The Doctor sat up and tugged on his ear harshly, looking adorably flustered. "Well, at least they're not_ bad_ pictures." She raised an eyebrow at him, smirking slightly. He groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "How long will it be until your mum lets me forget this?"

She laughed and flopped back onto the bed next to him, wrapping her arms around him. "Oh, that's never going to happen. But, Doctor?"

"Yes, Rose?"

"Get some reflective paint."

ΘΣ


End file.
